Vacations become 'staycations' in sluggish economy

Barbecuing shrimp and zucchini on a grill,siblings Mirlande and Jean Cadet relaxed with their families beneath the pines at Lake Cochituate, waiting for rain showers to pass. They’d really like to fly to Paris this summer to see their sister but money has been tight so they drove from Boston to Framingham for a family cookout.

By Chris Bergeron/Daily News staff

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Chris Bergeron/Daily News staff

Posted Aug. 6, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 6, 2012 at 6:04 AM

By Chris Bergeron/Daily News staff

Posted Aug. 6, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 6, 2012 at 6:04 AM

» Social News

Barbecuing shrimp and zucchini on a grill,siblings Mirlande and Jean Cadet relaxed with their families beneath the pines at Lake Cochituate, waiting for rain showers to pass.

They’d really like to fly to Paris this summer to see their sister but money has been tight so they drove from Boston to Framingham for a family cookout.

"Unfortunately, we can’t go there. Airfare for the children and us would be too much,’’ said Mirande Cadet. "So many bills: house, food, school, car insurance. How much do you pay for gas?’’

As his family gathered to eat, Jean Cadet added, "Maybe we’ll go to Paris next year.’’

At the far end of the beach, Jean Stameris relaxed in a chair, reading a novel and watching her two sons play in the water.

"I don’t really have to stay home but I chose to come here and keep my money in my pocket,’’ she said. "It’s my first time here. We live in Brookline but it’s too expensive there. There’s no outstanding pool.’’

The Alabama native shivered when her 10-year-old son Nicholas dripped water on her. She put down her book to check Alexander in the water.

"I heard there’s some nice places to visit in Concord,’’ said Stameris. "For now, we’re saving for that Disney trip. Some time in the future.’’

Neither the Cadets nor Stameris mentioned "staycations’’ but experts and officials in the travel and tourism business would say they’re prime examples of a significant trend in recreation.

Most agree that for largely economic reasons more people are vacationing and spending their money closer to home.

First appearing in print in 2003 and added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary in 2009, "staycation’’ generally means vacationing close to home, sometimes augmented with day trips of varying lengths.

Patrick Moscaritollo, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, said changes in how people vacation and travel "were clearly a reflection of dramatic economic upheavals from 2008 to 2010.’’

He said earlier rising gas prices and airfares, Europe’s economic uncertainty and job insecurity in the U.S. "have caused behavioral changes about how people travel.’’

As a consequence, Moscaritollo said hotel occupancy in Boston – regarded as "the gateway to Massachusetts’’ - reached a recent high of 78 percent in 2011 and appears to be slightly increasing this year.

Susan Nicholl, executive director of the recently-established MetroWest Tourism & Visitors Bureau, has been working on a marketing campaign "to capitalize on the increased interest in staycations’’ to bring visitors and their money into MetroWest.

"We’re making sure people know what’s in our back yard. Our job is to tell people you don’t need to go far away to have a great vacation. Our second job is to encourage people in MetroWest to think about taking their vacations close to home,’’ she said.

"Most travelers on staycations are looking for convenience and affordability they can’t find in big cities. But they also want sophisticated amenities. That’s MetroWest,’’ she said.

Documenting whether more people are visiting MetroWest and spending money here can be difficult because few sites track travelers’ origins.

Michele Pecoraro, vice-president of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, said data based on hotel accommodations and travel across the Bourne bridge suggests an increase in what she called "displacement visitors,’’ – "people who’d normally go to Maine or New Hampshire.’’ Midway through the summer, visits to the Cape Cod National Seashore appear to have increased by at least 15,000.

With the slogan, "A short trip to faraway,’’ she said the 15 Cape communities are the state’s second busiest vacation destination after Boston.

"Instead of people from Ohio, we’re getting more locals,’’ said Pecoraro. "

Ann Lindblad, publicist at Old Sturbridge Village, said the historical museum has seen a "25 percent increase of visitors within a two-hour drive’’ since 2007, resulting in 263,000 visitors in 2011. There’s also been a 10 percent decline in visitors from "very far away,’’ which she described as more than a two-hour drive.

Compared to 2011, Lindblad said general attendance has increased 4 percent in 2012 compared to a comparable time last year and a nine percent increase from visitors coming from less than two hours away.

She was reluctant to attribute the progressive annual increase in visitation just to staycations or the sluggish economy. She noted OSV is within a two-hour drive of major cities including Hartford, Providence and Hartford and had engaged in an active publicity campaign using social media, radio and billboards to advertise the village as a family-friendly site that always offered something new.

However, Lou Sideris, chief of planning and communications at Minute Man National Historical Park, said annual visitation has remained at 1.1 million for several years.

"We’re consistently in the top 10 most visited sites in the state. But, anecdotally, visitors are not specifically mentioning staycations to us. Our attendance tends to spike at our big special events,’’ he said.

Betsy Wall, executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, said there’s demonstrable evidence residents are increasingly vacationing in state and spending more money here.

In 2011, about 21 million domestic, international and Canadian travelers visited the state, spending $13.5 billion and supporting 121,700 jobs, she said.

From 2009 to 2011, Wall said the proportion of state residents relative to the total number of visitors to Massachusetts, based on hotel occupancy, has grown steadily from 30, to 37 to 41 percent.

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What’s it mean for MetroWest?

While data for 2011 wasn’t available, MOTT provided data indicating in 2010, visitors to MetroWest spent $514 million, up six percent from the previous year. Visitor spending in MetroWest supported about 4,600 local jobs.

"I can’t tell you why but it’s likely a combination of things. People are busy and taking shorter vacations than they used to,’’ said Wall. "The traditional two-week vacation is declining. And consumers are smart. Travelers look for deals.’’

In a wooded picnic area away from the beach, Aurora and Victor Narvaez have come to Lake Cochituate to celebrate their son Steven’s seventh birthday with a picnic.

The Framingham residents have been to Cape Code "several times’’ and would really love to see the California coast some day.

Aurora works as a nanny and Victor is a self-employed construction worker so, for the time being, California will have to wait.